1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a towing vehicle for large aircraft such as a Boeing 747 and in particular, to a ground operated aircraft towing vehicle in which the nose wheel of the aircraft is lifted and secured off the ground by the aircraft towing vehicle to permit ease in towing of the aircraft along the taxi ways and for positioning the aircraft at designated locations at the terminal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Aircraft towing vehicles are known in the prior art. One such vehicle is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,625 issued to Schuller et al. on Dec. 30, 1986. In the Schuller patent, a towing tractor is shown in which the nose wheel of the aircraft is drawn onto a platform. U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,384, issued to Johnson on July 19, 1977, shows a truck for transporting an airplane by its nose wheel. The truck has a horizontal nose roller adapted to be rammed under the nose wheel of the airplane landing gear to elevate the nose wheel. U.S. Pat. No. 3,049,253, issued to Cabral on Aug. 14, 1962, shows a manually actuated airplane tow tractor that supports the nose wheel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,924, issued to Dobbie on Apr. 21, 1987, shows an aircraft ground handling vehicle which includes a rotating platform upon which the nose wheel is mounted for movement.
All of these devices have drawbacks which include high cost for the devices and complexity of operation and manipulation by ground crews. With the high volume of aircraft at today's municipal airports and the extremely large aircraft using the taxi ways and terminal areas, it is essential that the large aircraft be quickly and easily transported to the desired locations. The present invention provides a simple aircraft towing tractor which is comparatively inexpensive, which does not require ballast, and which can manipulate the large weight and size of aircraft nose wheels and the aircraft supported thereby, such as on a Boeing 747, by ground crew members. The present invention can also be manufactured as a primary purpose ground vehicle in a single unit or as a separate towed vehicle for use by currently existing ground tractors.